Papers of BAS

Abstracting / Indexing

Papers of BAS, Humanities and Social Sciences

Vol. 3, No 2, 2016

SOCIOLOGY

INCOME INEQUALITY, YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE EXPANSION OF BULGARIA’S HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Lubomir Stoytchev

Abstract. The influence of income inequality and youth unemployment on the expansion of the higher education in Bulgaria is analysed and interpreted. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression models are calculated and discussed. Quantitative evidence about an association between income inequality and the growing percentage of higher education graduates is presented. The youth unemployment perspective to higher education is also modelled and explored as a context and as a predictor. Data analyses confirm the theoretical assumption that increasing income inequality in society can lead to more higher education graduates, especially among the 25-64 age group. Youth unemployment proves to be an important contextual setting for the income inequality – higher education relationship.

Key words: income inequality, S80/S20 income quintile, youth unemployment, tertiary education/higher education